Shortly after meeting Mr Khan, the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate posted a pic of the meeting on his Twitter account.

Earlier in the day, he had said on Twitter, “Enjoying Uttarayan in Ahmedabad. Salman Khan will join for lunch.”

The actor is in Gujarat to promote his upcoming film Jai Ho. He was recently pilloried for performing at the Saifai Mahotsav in Uttar Pradesh, where thousands of people in riot-hit Muzaffarnagar are still struggling to survive.

Defending his performance after a storm of criticism, the actor said his NGO, Being Human, had pledged to fund 200 paediatric surgeries in Uttar Pradesh on behalf of all artistes who performed at the event.